


Being Human

by orphan_account



Series: Being Human [1]
Category: Steam Powered Giraffe
Genre: human bots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-04
Updated: 2012-10-04
Packaged: 2017-11-15 14:59:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/528525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The robots, having mysteriously become human, have long since ended the band and begun new lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Being Human

In the end, you decided to go into art. Illustration, to be precise. You applied for Columbia College (along with about ten other schools), and had been accepted. Sure, it meant that you had to move far away from your brothers, but at least you’re getting a decent education now. Plus, you get to do your second favourite thing in the world next to singing- Drawing.

Just because you don’t get to see your brothers in person anymore doesn’t mean you completely cut off ties with them. You call Jon every day. And while Stephen has an aversion to phone conversations, you still text him as often as you can. The three of you are as close as ever despite the distance.

From what he’s told you, you know that Jon is studying photography somewhere in Georgia. He hasn’t mentioned the name of the school, but you like to assume that it’s a good one. You’re pretty proud of him, too.

Stephen says he’s going to medical school. He’s off in Michigan. Not too far, he’d said, but he doesn’t have time to come visit. He doesn’t talk about school much, but you assume that he’s doing well. He’s always been a smart cookie, and you don’t doubt that his grades are fantastic.

You yourself are doing fairly well, too. Your grades are good, and your professors like you. You have an okay apartment with an… Okay enough roommate.

Okay. The roommate, you admit, you could do without. He doesn’t pay his share of the rent. He doesn’t even go to school a lot of the time. He also smokes a lot, which you don’t appreciate in the slightest.

But you figure that, hey, there’s nothing you can do about it. So, why complain? Sure, you have to work during nearly all of the time you’re not in school just to pay the rent. And sure, you live off of cheap ramen and rice that’s too dry and salty. But there’s nothing to be done, so you grit your teeth and deal with it.

-

It’s in the middle of the school year that you get a call from Jon. It isn’t like his usual calls. He’s crying, and mumbling and you can barely understand a word he’s saying. You shush him and tell him to try to calm down. He takes a few deep breaths and says in such a small voice that it almost hurts you:

“Rabbit, where am I?”

Then you hear him drop the phone and the signal cuts off.

-

You spend the rest of the week worrying because he hasn’t called you back. You have no idea if your baby brother is okay or not, and if he isn’t… There are so many things that could be wrong, and the possibilities are taunting you.

You miss two days of school because you’re afraid to leave the apartment. What if he shows up at your door? What if he’s hurt, and cold, and hungry?

You can’t leave the apartment. You have to be here for him.

-

Jon does not come to your apartment. He doesn’t call you back at first, either. You do, however, get a call from his roommate, Cameron.

He tells you that Jon is okay. He explains that the two of them were at a bar, and that Jon had been drugged.

You ask to speak to Jon, but Cameron says that he’s sleeping. You don’t want to wake your little brother so you thank Cameron for the closure, and hang up.

At least he’s okay.

-

Jon finally calls you two days later. He says that he’s sorry he worried you. You tell him that it’s okay. You try not to cry, but eventually you can’t hold it in any longer.

Jon asks you what’s wrong.

You tell him that you’re fine and that he should go do his homework. He’s got a lot to catch up on.

He laughs that wonderful boyish laugh of his, says ‘Okay’, and hangs up.

You have never felt a stranger mix of joy and despair in your life.

-

Life goes on pretty normally after that. School ends, and you get another job to make rent easier to pay. Your roommate is still unemployed and high at all hours of the day.

You talk to him about it one day.

“You should get a job,” You tell him. “Make some money.”

“Nah, man,” He says. “Too busy f’that.”

“Busy doin’ what?” You ask. “All ya ever do is drugs.”

“Get outta my room, man,” He glares at you.

“Not until you do too,” You frown.

Your roommate stands up and approaches you. You’ll admit, you’re intimidated - he’s at least three or four inches taller than you, and you know he could easily knock you out if he wanted to.

“I said  _get outta my room,_ ” He repeats. He grabs you by the hair and all but throws you out into the hallway. Your head hits the wall and you slide to the floor. Your roommate slams his bedroom door shut so hard it makes you jump.

You’re so angry, you feel like crying. You settle for locking yourself in your bedroom and texting Stephen. Hopefully, he can make you feel better.

_Sat. June 16 7:21pm_

_I’m done with my roommate. I’m so so done._

_Sat. June 16 7:22pm_

_what did he do this time_

_Sat. June 16 7:22pm_

_He won’t get a job and he won’t help me pay the rent. He’s awful, and I hate him so much._

_Sat. June 16 7:24pm_

_ive never seen you hate anyone before_

_Sat. June 16 7:24pm_

_this is new_

_Sat. June 16 7:24pm_

_Yeah, well I’ve never shared an apartment with anyone before._

_Sat. June 16 7:25pm_

_I don’t know what to do anymore. I’m so tired of dealing with him._

_Sat. June 16 7:27pm_

_so kick him out_

_Sat. June 167:27pm_

_tell your landlord or something. i dont know._

_-_

You don’t actually have to tell your landlord anything, because your roommate is arrested after being involved in a hit and run a month later.

You’re kind of relieved.

-

When school starts up again in August, you feel pretty great about it. You think that maybe this year will be a lot better than the last, and that you can finally focus on your school work. Maybe you’ll even find a better roommate!

It takes a little while, but you do get a new roommate. His name is Darren, and he has a job. He also doesn’t smoke or drink, or anything. You are very grateful for all three of these things, and you become pretty good friends with him.

You’ve also started texting Stephen a lot more. You tried calling him once, but he didn’t pick up. Afterward, he sent you a message, and all it said was, ‘ _you know i dont take calls_ ’.

You’ve noticed something lately. Stephen’s texts have been getting shorter and simpler - with less punctuation and capitalization.

One day, you asked him if anything was wrong.

_Wed. Aug 29 8:04pm_

_no_

_Wed. Aug 29 8:04pm_

_Are you sure?_

_Wed. Aug 29 8:08pm_

_yes_

_Wed. Aug 29 8:09pm_

_I’m sorry, you just seem kinda off to me._

_Wed. Aug 29 8:15pm_

_im fine_

_Wed. Aug 29 8:16pm_

_You don’t seem fine to me._

He doesn’t reply for a long time. You wake up the next morning to a new message on your phone.

_Thur. Aug 30 5:01am_

_im sorry_

_Thur. Aug 30 6:09am_

_Stephen, are you okay? Why are you sorry?_

_Thur. Aug 30 6:10am_

_Stephen, what happened?_

_Thur. Aug 30 6:11am_

_Stephen?_

_Thur. Aug 30 6:11am_

_Stephen, please answer me._

_Thur. Aug 30 6:12am_

_You’re scaring me please just answer me._

_Thur, Aug 30 6:15am_

_I’m not kidding, Stephen._

After ten more minutes, you break down and decide to try calling him again.

To your surprise, he picks up.

“Stephen?” You say frantically. “Are you okay?”

“I’m sorry.”

He’s crying. He’s sobbing so hard that it hurts to listen to. You clutch the phone as hard as you can, and bite your lip.

“Stephen, what happened?” You ask. “Why are you apologizing?”

“I-” He can’t say anything at first. He stutters, and trips over his words before he finally utters, “I lost everything.”

“What d’ya mean?” Your breath hitches as the question leaves your lips.

“I- I couldn’t do it,” Stephen breathes. “I g-gave- I gave up.”

“What do ya-”

“I- I dropped out of school, Robbie, I- It was- It was too much, and- And then they- They kicked me out of my dorm,” He weeps.

“Stephen… When did this happen?” You question him. He doesn’t answer you at first.

“ _Stephen,_ ” You stress.

“Last school year,” He croaks.

You are not upset.

You are not angry.

You are absolutely  _livid._

“Where are ya? I’m gonna come get ya,” You say as you hold the phone between your shoulder and your ear. You hurry into the front room to get your coat.

“I- I don’t- I don’t know,” Stephen sniffs. “I think… Portage. Maybe.”

“Look for a street sign,” You order. “I’m goin’ out!” You call to Darren.

“Alright!” Darren shouts back to you.

You direct your attention back to Stephen over the phone. “Now, where are ya?”

“Schuring Road,” Stephen replies. “Can you- I- Just hurry.”

-

It takes you almost four hours to get to Portage. You don’t have a driver’s license, so you have to take a bus and two trains.

But you get there.

It’s another forty minutes before you actually find Stephen. And you almost wish you didn’t have to look at him. He’s so much skinnier than he used to be, and he’s paler than you’ve ever seen him before.

He doesn’t move when he sees you. And he doesn’t have to because your arms are wrapped around him within seconds.

And he holds you as if his life depends on it, his bony fingers grasping your biceps as tightly as possible, and his nose buried in your hair.

You can feel him start to sob again, and you embrace him even harder.

“It’s okay,” You whisper to him. “You’re gonna be fine.”

-

The entire way home, Stephen does not let go of your hand. He seems almost afraid to allow your hand to escape his grasp. You’re sure it’s because he’s been alone for a good three months, and is afraid that it’ll happen again.

“What have you been doing?” You ask him during the train ride. “Ya know, all of this time you’ve been out of school.”

“Not much, really,” He mutters. “I tried busking, but no one really payed attention to me.”

“Didn’t make any money?”

“I got a few dollars here and there, but never enough,” Stephen sighed.

“Ya know, ya could have called someone at the manor to help you out,” You tell him. He shakes his head.

“I wanted to,” He says. “But… They’d all be so disappointed in me. I mean, I could’ve been a  _doctor_ , and… Now I’m homeless.”

“You’re not homeless,” You assert. “Not for long, anyway. You’re staying with me.”

He doesn’t reply, but he rests his head on your shoulder, and closes his eyes.

“Things’ll get better, big fella,” You whisper. “I promise.”

-

Stephen sleeps through the rest of the train ride, and through the bus ride afterward. You have to wake him up for transfers, but he says it’s okay because he just wants to go home. Home being your apartment, of course.

-

It’s past one o’clock when you return to your apartment. Darren has already gone off to class, so no one is home. You take Stephen’s hand and lead him inside.

“We only have two beds,” You say. “But you can have mine if ya want. I can sleep on the sofa.”

Stephen shakes his head.

“No, I- I couldn’t do that. It’s your bed.”

“No, really, you can have my bed. I honestly don’t mind,” You assure him.

He bites his lip, but nods after a while.

You grab his hand again and show him to your bedroom.

“Sorry, it’s sorta small,” You apologise. You look up at his face, and you almost laugh. His expression is somewhat of a cross between and astonishment and pure ecstasy. Before you know it, Stephen is curled up on top of the covers. Reasonable, since you doubt he’d fit if he laid straight.

“I guess you’re tired, aren’t ya, buddy?” You chuckle.

He doesn’t answer you. He’s already asleep.

You smile softly, and back out of the room, slowly closing the door behind you.

-

A good five hours later, you wake Stephen for dinner. You didn’t make it yourself - you could never cook. But Darren arrived home a while ago and prepared food for three after you told him about Stephen’s situation.

“Hey, any brother of yours is a brother of mine,” He’d said.

Stephen must not have eaten for a while, because he asks for seconds, and later thirds. You laugh and tell him that he’ll make himself sick that way, but he doesn’t listen to you and just keeps eating.

He does eventually get a stomach ache. You give him an antacid, and sit with him after he passes out on your bed again - stroking his hair and muttering “I told ya so,” under your breath.

-

The rest of the year goes fairly well for everyone. Stephen decides to take a break from school until next year. But he tells you that he wants to join you and Darren at Columbia. He’ll study music, he says. You think that this is a fabulous idea, and support him wholeheartedly.

-

Jon comes to visit around Christmas. He’s so incredibly happy to see you and Stephen that he doesn’t let go of the both of you for a good ten minutes.

“I missed you guys a whole lot!” Jon exclaims. “Happy Christmas!”

-

Conversation over dinner is great. You mostly talk about Jon (which makes Jon feel pretty good about himself, you reckon). He smiles and goes on animatedly about school.

“I’m getting extra good marks, just for you guys!” He says around a mouthful of turkey. “‘Cause I knew you’d be proud of me, and I like when you’re proud of me! Are you?”

“Of course, buddy. We’re real proud,” You tell him. Stephen nods in agreement. He hasn’t said much, but you don’t call him out on it.

“So, Jon. You’re in photography?” Darren asks. Jon nods vigorously.

“Sure am!” He grins. “It’s great! I get to take photographs of all sorts of things! I even met this girl that lets me take really pretty pictures of her. Her name is Madeline and I like her a lot!”

This makes you feel unreasonably fuzzy inside. The thought of Jon likely being in a relationship (even if he probably didn’t realise it) makes you happy for reasons you can’t explain.

“Well, I’m proud a’ ya, little guy,” You say. He laughs - that same wonderful, boyish laugh as always - and returns his attention to his food.

-

The remainder of dinner goes excellently and by the end, everyone is content, and sleepy, and just in an all around good mood.

You don’t think you’ve been in this good of a mood in months.

Darren excuses himself from the table, saying that it’s late and about time he got to bed. He exits the kitchen, leaving you and your brothers to yourselves.

“I’m really glad we could all see each other again,” You say. Stephen and Jon both nod in concurrence.

“S’been a long time,” Stephen mumbles. “You know, since we’ve been together. I sort of miss it. The three of us being a group, I mean.”

“Yeah,” Jon sighs. “I miss singing with you guys. And I miss the manor. And I miss Michael. Ooh, and I miss the zoo, too! And I also miss-”

“That’s enough, Jon,” Stephen chuckles.

“Oh. Sorry, Spi-” He cuts himself off. “I mean… Sorry, Stephen.”

Everyone is silent for a few moments. Stephen looks down at the tabletop rather sadly.

“It’s never going to be the same again, is it?” He asks.

“‘Fraid not,” You tell him. “But hey, we got each other now, yeah?”

“Yeah, we do,” Jon rests his head on the table and blinks sleepily. “Got each other…”

“Tired?” You ask him.

“Mm,” He hums.

You laugh softly, and stand up.

“Let’s go take a nap, huh? I bet we could use it.”

Stephen nods and stands up, too. Jon doesn’t get up, but he doesn’t have to because before he can, Stephen has picked him out of his chair and begun walking back to your bedroom with the smaller man in his arms. You smile, and follow them.

-

The three of you curl up on your bed together. Stephen has his arms around your waist and his face buried in your shirt. Jon is clinging to your other side - his arms and legs wrapped tightly around you as he sleeps.

You don’t think you’ve been this happy in a very long time.

You look down at your baby brothers, and smile.

“Good night, The Spine,” You whisper. “Good night, The Jon.”

You reach over and turn off the bedside lamp.

It feels good to be a family again.


End file.
